Virtual reality and augmented reality are two computer technologies for viewing synthetic or partially synthetic environments. Virtual reality generally is used to refer to computer generated representations of various real-world or fictitious environments. Virtual reality can be used to generate immersive synthetic environments that users can interact with and/or navigate through as if in a real world environment, though the virtual reality environment can be fictional. Some embodiments of virtual reality make use of immersive audio and/or visual technologies to provide realistic experiences in the virtual environments.
Augmented reality can be used to refer to various types of computer assisted representations of the real world. In particular, augmented reality displays sometimes use a photograph or video of a real world environment such as, for example, a photograph or video of an environment around a smartphone as captured by a camera or other imaging device associated with the smartphone. These images can be supplemented with computer generated information such as tags, flags, or the like, which can be used to denote places of interest or other information within the images. The supplemented information can be provided, in some embodiments, as an image overlay that provides information about objects viewable in the image.
Because augmented reality displays are sometimes based upon a photograph, image, or video taken using a device camera, the augmented reality displays generally only provide information about objects in a field of vision of the camera or other imaging device used to capture the photograph, image, or video. To obtain information about objects outside of the camera field of vision, a user turns his or her body (or at least the device housing the camera) toward the objects, thereby prompting download and display of augmented reality elements associated with the objects.